France’s New Organ Registry and the New Paternalism

Social media never fails to create drama.
Several months ago, an acquaintance on Facebook posted a video discussing France’s new law regarding organ donation. Specifically, the French government revised its policies on organ donation such that everyone is considered an organ donor upon their death unless they officially opt out of the program. As of January 2, 2017, only 150,00 people had opted out of the registry. (For perspective, France has about 41 million adults between the ages of 15 and 64.)
Indeed, the shortage of transplantable organs is a very real one. According to Donate Life America, an organization that encourages people